New Gun Propellant Technologies for Improved Safety and Increased Performance

摘要

At the time being, ammunition industry is challenged by several new requirements, most of them being related to safety and performance issues. Nitrochemie's R&D strategy is thus targeting to achieve improvements in both safety-relevant and performance properties of gun propellants / charge systems; e.g.: 1. Less toxic "green" propellants. 2. Increased chemical / ballistic stability and thus service life. 3. Insensitive or less sensitive propellants. 4. Increased interior ballistic performance by: 4.1 New propellant formulations with higher thermal efficiency, producing larger amounts of gases at lower flame temperatures. 4.2 New and/or very precisely manufactured propellant grain geometries yielding higher progressivity and increased gravimetric density. 4.3 Formulations and/or surface coating technologies achieving very flat, tuneable temperature characteristics. From this strategy several unique propellant technologies have evolved during the last two decades; e.g.: ECL~®-Technology (ECL = Extruded Composite Low Sensitivity), a new nitroglycerine-free propellant family with superior overall-properties, in particular highest performance potential at threefold shelf life for medium calibre and mortar systems. SCDB~®-Technology (SCDB = Surface Coated Double Base) for KE-tank rounds, allowing almost temperature-independent peak pressure, muzzle velocity, projectile acceleration and projectile trajectory. R-type propellant family: Solvent-less produced modified triple base propellant. The combination of high performance at low gun barrel erosion and excellent IM-properties makes it to the best artillery propellant worldwide.